More than 800 kilos of illegally caught elvers seized

The Central Operational Environmental Unit (UCOMA) of the Nature Protection Service (SEPRONA) of the Guardia Civil, in collaboration with the Central Criminal Investigation Unit (UCIC) of the Portuguese Maritime Police, has dismantled an important international criminal organisation within the framework of Operation Olissipo, dedicated to elver trafficking between both countries.

Elvers are the offspring of eels, which make long migrations from European rivers to spawn in the sea.

The operation has been carried out over two years and has resulted in the arrest/investigation of 21 people of various nationalities and the seizure of about 420 kg of elvers in air transport and 293 kg in land transport, which adds up to a total of more than 800 kg of live elvers seized within the framework of this investigation.

In the thirty searches carried out, between Spain and Portugal, various weapons and cash have been located. In addition, all the infrastructure necessary to keep the elvers alive and prepare their export to Asia has been dismantled.

Departure from the territory of the European Union is carried out by sending elvers in personal luggage, using suitcases prepared for transport with bags injected with oxygen, to guarantee their survival for up to 42 hours.

In parallel, front companies have been located expressly established for the export of elvers to Asia, which camouflaged the exports among other refrigerated products. It should be noted that a “zero quota” for exports to third countries from the European Union is currently established, which means that exports abroad are completely prohibited.

Those now detained used especially complex organised crime structures, analogous to those of other criminal areas such as drug trafficking, due to the great economic benefits that this illicit trafficking entails, which can reach 9,000 euro per kilo, on the black market.

The members of the organisation had clearly defined roles that ranged from illegal fishermen to intermediaries, who carried out the first reception of the elver; the second step of storage and, finally, export to Asia.

The Guardia Civil has closely followed the activities of this criminal network, actively cooperating with the Portuguese Maritime Police to dismantle its operations in both countries. In the fight against organised crime, cross-border collaboration is essential, especially when it operates on an international scale. Collaboration between the different countries in Europe, among which Spain and Portugal stand out, is a key piece in the fight against criminal organisations that carry out this criminal activity.

The dismantling of this criminal network is an example of the commitment of the Portuguese and Spanish authorities to the protection of marine life, as well as the fight against illegal trafficking of protected species. This operation represents an important step to preserve natural resources and safeguard the common maritime heritage of these two Iberian countries.

At the national level, the MITERD, as the CITES Administrative Authority, has collaborated throughout the season in the maintenance, transfer and subsequent return to the natural environment of the seized elvers, which have been released in different parts of the national territory such as Asturias, Cantabria, Tarragona, Castellón or Cádiz. In this way, one of the most difficult objectives in the fight against species trafficking is achieved, which is the total reintroduction into the environment of the intervened specimens. The same happens in Portugal, where the Instituto da Conservaçao da Naturaleza e das Florestas (ICNF) actively collaborates in the reintroduction of the intervened elvers to the environment.